Advanced Job System

[jperk82]

I'm not sure if this is already slated for change (or if someone already suggested this), but I would suggest a prioritized system for the job system.

Right now, you can toggle on or off for a job per character and the priority is read from left to right (for the most part).

I would suggest a toggle for an advanced job system where you can place a priority number in each job for each character, thereby reading left to right and prioritizing by number first. So if digging has a higher priority than combat, for example, digging would come first, then combat. It would look something like this:

Dupe1: 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 3 -- left to right threes, then left to right 2s, etc. up to the lowest priority (since higher numbers are higher priority in the game already).

However, this comes into conflict with prioritizing objects by location. If both prioritization systems exist, then the easiest deconfliction I can think of is to have matching priority numbers so that if in the world, digging and mopping are 6, and on the job board digging is 7 and mopping is 6, digging comes first, then mopping. This is to say the world takes priority, then the job board sub-prioritizes them.

Hope that makes sense. I would prefer the job system prioritization system for easier sorting of jobs world-wide.

Thanks in advance.

[Gr8rSlayer]

yeah, I was thinking maybe using a combination of multiplication and subtraction, where the total priority is equal to the job priority times the priority set on specific things minus the order of the jobs (ex: combat is 0), so P=J*A-O

P= Priority 

J= Job Priority (as in what you set the priority to be on the job list)

A=Physical Priority (as in what you set jobs to be in the physical world)

and O=the order the specific jobs are assigned in (ex: combat is 0, and digging is 18)

example, if i wanted a Duplicate to Dig, and I have its Job priority at 9, and i set the dig order on the block at 7, but i also had a build order, and the Duplicate also had a build job priority of 8, and the build is on 8 as well, then the dig value is 45, and the build value is 48, the duplicate will choose to build, rather than dig, while other duplicates, maybe with a lower build priority, would dig, rather than build. 

9*7-18=45

8*8-16=48

This could also mean Cooks and such wouldn't completely useless without the help of others, (ex: they cannot cook due to lack of materials)  they  could go gather some materials, and if lets say there is no power for their grill, they can do something about it.

I hope this helps!

[Swat__Raptor]

I agree with the OP, having individual dupes have different skills is nice but without being able to prioritize what each individual prioritizes you have no ability to focus said skills, everyone does everything in the current build. 

 

Like the OP said  World priorities are considered first, then the dupes individual assigned preferences.  

 

if there are many digging and sweeping jobs set to priority 10 and nothing else that high then they are done first but when a pawn is being assigned a new task they first looks for jobs which match their individual assigned preferences.  if their preference for digging is higher than sweeping then they will be assigned to digging from the priority 10 task list.

 

We would need some kind of system like this to really focus our dupes skills.

 

right now you can print dupes and if they are a high level digger you can say only do digging but telling them to never do certain task isn't really what I want them todo. I

 

In early game you are going to have alot of task which just need done, skill or no skill,